The Browick Preparatory School, Norumbega, Maine, 2000-2001

The fictional prep school in western Maine where Vanessa meets Strane is, by her own account, her “world” (42), apart from the remote rural backwater town where she lives. The prep school symbolizes the promise of Vanessa early on. The boarding school, with its emphasis on academic achievement and competitive grades, is designed to groom promising young girls to succeed as an adult, to get them into an Ivy League university and from there to a stellar career. The admission standards are high, and the school is quite expensive. The grounds are impeccably manicured “bathed in golden light” (11), the dorms lavishly appointed. Even though Vanessa’s father is a doctor, she only attends the exclusive school through a scholarship. As the school director emphasizes during the Parent Weekend reception, Browick prides itself on students who focus on learning. Parents send their children to...